How Rachel Got His Name
by storm-aurora
Summary: Pokémon Trainer Lack-Two has many aliases, but perhaps the strangest of these is Rachel. "Oh, it was just a misprint in the volume preview." I beg to differ. Born out of a simple mistake, this is the story of how the nickname Rachel came to be.


**A/N: I always like to start things off with this little old crack story of mine, the first piece of Pokéspe fanfiction that I ever published. I'll admit Hugh may seem a little OOC, but I wrote this years ago when I had only read the first couple of chapters of BW2 and I misinterpreted the relationship between Blake and Hugh. But this story's written all in good fun, so I don't think it's really that big of a deal. Also, keep in mind that this takes place during Gen V, so the facts mentioned in this story are accurate as of Gen V, not Gen VII. Thank you, and enjoy :)**

Lack-Two walks into the classroom, where his friends Leo and Hugh are already at their desks and waiting for him. He sits down at the desk in behind Hugh, who turns in his seat to face Lack-Two. "You took your time," he says.

"Good morning to you too," Lack-Two responds. "Ready for the test this afternoon?"

"I was born ready," Hugh yawns. "It'll be a piece of cake."

"For you, maybe," Leo says, looking worried.

Lack-Two turns to Leo. "What types aren't damaged by sandstorm?"

"Uh…" Leo pauses. "Rock, Ground, and…Steel?"

"Bingo. Which weather condition makes certain moves restore more of a Pokémon's energy?"

Leo frowns. "Is it…intense sunlight?"

Lack-Two grins. "You got it. And, for the million-dollar question…which moves restore more of a Pokémon's energy in intense sunlight?"

"Uh…Morning Sun, and um, Synthesis…" Leo scratches his head. "I think there's another one, but I can't remember it?"

"The three moves are Morning Sun, Synthesis, and Slack Off," Hugh says.

"Wrong," Lack-Two says. "The third move is Moonlight, not Slack Off."

"Whatever," Hugh says, turning around in his seat. "Shouldn't class have started by now?"

As he says it, a middle-aged woman enters the classroom. She stands at the front of the room and calls, "Class! May I have your attention, please?"

The murmur of conversation dies down as the students' attention shifts to the unfamiliar woman at the front of the classroom. "My name is Mrs. Perry, and I'll be your substitute teacher today."

"We've got a sub today?" Hugh mutters. "Why didn't Miss Kathy tell us that yesterday?"

Mrs. Perry turns around and begins ruffling through the papers on Miss Kathy's desk. She pulls out a sheet and turns back towards the class. "I'll go through the attendance now. Please say 'here' when I call your name…oh, and if I mispronounce your name, please correct me. So, we'll begin with…Eleanor?"

"Here," a girl with medium-length brown hair says. "And I go by Ellie."

"Ah, I'll write that down…" Mrs. Perry makes a note on the attendance chart. "Next, Ferris?"

"Here."

"Genevieve?"

"Here!"

"Hugh?"

"Present."

Mrs. Perry glances up from the attendance chart and looks at Hugh. "Please say 'here' when I call your name in the future," she says. "Next is…oh, I seem to have lost my place…but I believe next is Leo?"

"I'm here!" Leo says.

Hugh turns around in his seat. "She skipped your name," he whispers to Lack-Two. "Aren't you gonna say something?"

"I'll tell her after she finishes," Lack-Two whispers back.

Hugh narrows his eyes at Lack-Two. "Whatever," he finally says, turning back around. When he does, he is startled by Mrs. Perry, who is standing right in front of his desk.

"Please don't talk while I'm calling roll, Hugh," Mrs. Perry says sternly.

"Here," Hugh says, grinning.

Mrs. Perry looks puzzled. "Excuse me?" Hugh grins even wider, trying not to laugh, and she simply shakes her head and returns to the front of the classroom. "Where was I…Maya?"

"Here." The reply from the corner of the classroom is so quiet Mrs. Perry doesn't hear it.

"Maya? Is she absent?"

"I'm here," Maya says, a little louder.

"Ah, there you are," Mrs. Perry says. "Please speak up in the future, dear. Natalie?"

"Here~"

"Prince?"

"Here."

Mrs. Perry squints at the attendance sheet. "Ra…Rachelle?"

Lack-Two knows that people tend to mispronounce Rachelle's name at first, so he kindly decides to correct the sub's mistake. "It's pronounced 'Rachel'," Lack-Two says.

Mrs. Perry glances up from the attendance sheet. "Ah, thank you, Miss…" She falters when she realizes who spoke. "…ter…Rachel."

Lack-Two blinks at the sub in confusion, half-expecting the real Rachelle to correct her. But no one speaks up, though half the class is trying to suppress their laughter. "She's not here," Hugh whispers through his laughter. "She's not here!"

Mrs. Perry glares at Hugh. "Hugh, please, be quiet!"

"Here!" Hugh's struggling to breathe through his silent laughter.

Mrs. Perry rolls her eyes and continues: "Rishi?"

"Here."

"Sophie?"

"Here!"

"Travis?"

"Here…"

"Vance?"

"Here."

"Yuki?"

"Here!"

"Yuko?"

"Here."

Mrs. Perry smiles. "Everyone's here, then." She puts the attendance sheet down on her desk and picks up Miss Kathy's lesson plans. "Now, then, it appears you're working on a group project this morning? Well, then, divide into your groups, and get to work, class!"

Hugh, Lack-Two, and Ellie get together in the back corner of the classroom while Sophie goes to get the materials they need to continue their project. Lack-Two's face is flushed with pink. "I'm going to go correct her," he mumbles.

"Don't," Hugh gasps, laughing audibly now. "It's funnier this way!"

"Maybe for you!" Lack-Two protests. "But I bet Ellie doesn't agree!"

"Oh, I don't know," Ellie giggles. "It is pretty funny, Rachel."

"My name isn't Rachel! It's Lack-Two!" Lack-Two shouts.

"Calm down, Rachel," Hugh grins. "It's not that big a deal."

Before Lack-Two can respond, Sophie comes up with the materials they need for their project. "Hey, who took the planning sheet after we were done yesterday?" she asks.

"I think Rachel did," Ellie says slyly.

"Rachel didn't," Lack-Two snaps. "I did."

"Make up your mind," Sophie says, a playful smile on her face. "Did you or didn't you?"

Lack-Two grits his teeth. "I did."

"Then get it out and we can start working."

Lack-Two walks back to his desk to get the planning sheet. While he gets it, Sophie asks, "How long are we going to keep this up?"

Hugh shrugs. "Until it's not funny anymore, I guess?"

Ellie laughs. "Oh, come on. When is this not going to be funny?"

"When he gets tired of it?" Sophie suggests.

"When Miss Kathy comes back and she doesn't like it?" Hugh proposes.

Ellie rolls her eyes. "That was supposed to be a rhetorical question."

"But it had answers," Hugh says.

"Whatever," Ellie says. "But as far as I'm concerned, that kid's name is Rachel from now on."


End file.
